Gentle Picks for Before Bed
Before you end the day, it helps to dim the screen and slow your mind. Here you'll find lullabies, nocturnes and quiet piano pieces, fairy-tale books to read a few pages of before sleep, paintings full of moonlight and stars, and soft animations to watch as you wind down. Good night.
Films
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1 Film
My Neighbor Totoro
A tale that wraps the heart softly, bringing back childhood curiosity and the quiet magic of nature.
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2 Film
Ponyo
The friendship of a little fish girl who wants to be human and a boy, an innocent joy as exuberant as the waves.
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3 Film
Arrietty
Through the eyes of a tiny girl who lives under the floorboards, it shows how magical an ordinary garden can be.
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4 Film
Christopher Robin
Winnie the Pooh and friends remind the grown-up Christopher of the value of doing nothing.
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5 Film
Only Yesterday
A calm, tender journey in which Taeko, off to the countryside, makes peace with her childhood memories and chooses a new life.
Songs
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6 Song
Lullaby (Wiegenlied)
The world's best-known lullaby, for drifting peacefully off to sleep.
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7 Song
Clair de Lune
A magical hush in which moonlight melts into the piano keys.
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8 Song
Gymnopédie No. 1
Slow, gentle piano notes that quiet the mind and deepen your breathing in a moment of calm.
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9 Song
Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2
A dreamlike piano nocturne that glides in the soft light of night.
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10 Song
Liebestraum No. 3
A dream of love, told in a tender, romantic piano piece.
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11 Song
The Swan
As graceful as a swan gliding on still water, the cello's most peaceful song.
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12 Song
Dream a Little Dream of Me
A sweet lullaby from two legendary voices, wishing you good night.
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13 Song
Moon River
An elegant piece for the window seat that slows down time.
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14 Song
Peace Piece
A piano improvisation as full of peace as its name, quieting the mind.
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15 Song
Says
A piece that builds hope from slowly growing, shimmering sounds.
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16 Song
One Summer's Day
From the film Spirited Away, a nostalgic and hopeful melody of a summer day.
Books
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17 Book
The Little Prince
A masterpiece that reminds us of the innocence and true friendship we forget in the rush of growing up.
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18 Book
Winnie the Pooh
The tender adventures of a honey-loving bear and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood.
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19 Book
Momo
A fairy tale full of childlike wisdom that reminds us about time and truly listening.
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20 Book
The Wind in the Willows
A peaceful tale of friendship along the riverbank between Mole, Water Rat and Toad.
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21 Book
Gitanjali
Nobel-winning poems devoted to life, nature and love, each line reading like a prayer of thanks.
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22 Book
The Pillow Book
A thousand-year-old court diary that makes you smile, keeping lists of seasons, small joys and lovely things.
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23 Book
Letters to a Young Poet
Tender letters to a young poet on solitude, patience and looking within.
Paintings
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24 Painting
The Starry Night
A mesmerizing calm that wraps the storms of the mind in peaceful swirling waves.
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25 Painting
Starry Night Over the Rhône
Stars spilling onto the river and a couple walking arm in arm show the night at its most romantic and calm.
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26 Painting
Moonlit Night on the Dnieper
Enchanted moonlight spilling across the river, a stillness that glows even in the dark of night.
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27 Painting
Two Men Contemplating the Moon
The wordless, shared peace of watching the crescent moon shoulder to shoulder with a friend.
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28 Painting
Full Moon
A poetic landscape where full moonlight on the water spreads the night's silence and coolness through you.
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29 Painting
The Sleeping Gypsy
A lion sniffing at a traveler asleep in the moonlight; a night when even danger turns soft and becomes a tale.
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30 Painting
Hazy Moon at Matsue
A coastal town asleep in misty moonlight, taking away the day's weariness and quietly resting the soul.